NAMA comments - auction activity picks up in August

NAMA 20/09/2018

“It is encouraging to see that auction activity in August remained stable with over 4% more cars sold. We are expecting to see fresh auction stock coming in in late September, and anticipate that strong hammer prices and conversion rates will continue well into next month as more volume is expected due to plate change activity,” said James Tomlinson, Chairman of The National Association of Motor Auctions (NAMA) commenting the latest NAMA monthly car auction data report for August 2018.

The report published today shows in August:

Average sale price has risen by £136 from July and £600 from August 2017.

There remains a significant gap between the average sale price of petrol and diesel cars at £4,064 for petrol and £7,739 for diesel, indicating that each one has a different model mix.

The first time premium was £145, down on last month’s figure of £173. Premiums for first time sales for both petrol and diesel cars were both down by £124 and £197.

Fist time conversion rates increased by 3.3% to 79.4% from July to August, and decreased -3.3% on the same period last year.

Diesel converted at 79.2%, up 2.5% on last month, and petrol up 4.1% at 79.9%.

Tomlinson continued, “This has been another very strong month for the used car market with both first time conversion and average values up. It has also been reported that sales attendance at auctions remained high during the month, with professional buyers bidding competitively across all market sectors, both at auction and online.

“With the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) now in action, and anecdotal lack of certain model availability in the new sector, we believe both demand and prices in the used market will remain high for the remainder of 2018 and into the New Year.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The full NAMA Car Auction report is available from the RMI press office on request.

About the RMI

The Retail Motor Industry represents the interests of operators in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man providing sales and services to motorists and businesses. The RMI has a formal association with the independent Scottish Motor Trade Association which represents the retail motor industry in Scotland.